I am always tired at the end of the day. I go to school and work several jobs. When I get home I have to eat dinner and settle in to do some hard core studying. By all intensive purposes I should be able to put my head on the pillow and sleep. A few times that has not been the case.
I was reading an article in the February, 2012, Psychology Today, magazine, when I came upon an article on insomnia. Some researchers have noticed a possible correlation between the amount of sun we get everyday and our ability to drop off to sleep. They attributed the need for sunlight because it is the blue light in the solar spectrum which triggers our brains into knowing it is time to sleep or it is time to stay awake. Approximately 25% of the U.S. population suffers from insomnia. There is no substitute for actual sunny rays. Artificial lighting won't cut it. That lighting cannot fool our circadian clocks. So next time you want to go outside for class, be sure to tell your professor you'll learn better if you do. http://youtu.be/wA7Q45XHoD8
The Bright Blue Lights of Insomnia
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This is very interesting and definitely explains why I sleep so much harder when I've spent hours of my day outside or just if it's a sunny day versus a cloudy or rainy day. Last week for instance, I didn't sleep very well at all throughout the entire week. Sunday night, I got a pretty good nights sleep as well. Yet last night, with yesterday being very cold, cloudy and rainy, I slept OK, but I woke up with a very bad neck pain and kept waking up briefly. They say humans in general are much more healthy during the spring and summer months; warm weather, sunny (Vitamin D), easier to exercise, etc. And now I know also it's because people sleep better and generally have more energy with sunlight.
Crazy. I have always had big problems sleeping. Never made the correlation between sunlight and sleep, but it does make sense looking back on it now. During the summer times I might spend a day out on the boat, and always wondered why spending time with my friend in the sun took so much of my energy. I would just sit there, not doing much. But that night, I would sleep like a rock like I spent the day working hardcore constriction.
Crazy. I have always had big problems sleeping. Never made the correlation between sunlight and sleep, but it does make sense looking back on it now. During the summer times I might spend a day out on the boat, and always wondered why spending time with my friend in the sun took so much of my energy. I would just sit there, not doing much. But that night, I would sleep like a rock like I spent the day working hardcore constriction.
As a person who stays awake sometimes for several hours in bed trying to fall asleep, this could end up being very helpful! I've always thought that I have trouble sleeping on days when I stay inside all day because of the lack of energy I expend just sitting in a chair (it should be noted that I came up with this theory when I was around 10), but this would also explain a lot of my problems. With that said, if you see a guy randomly sun bathing in the middle of superblock for the rest of the semester, just keep walking!
I actually struggle to fall asleep and this is an interesting correlation between sunlight/falling asleep. However, I spend a lot of time outside so I'm sure there is another reason as to why I spend hours trying to fall asleep tonight. I liked your suggestion to tell our professors to let us study outside!
Another problem that we have is also that some of our electronics give off that blue light from the spectrum that you were talking about, so it can also confuse our brain saying that it should be awake. That is why you rarely see blue alarm clocks, or the lighting of the numbers.
Is this fact also related to why we sleep after the sun goes down? I have also read an article on the relationship between the sunlight and serotonin secretion and depression. Insomnia is also deeply related to lack of serotonin. This is why we commonly call serotonin "happiness hormone." From now on, let's forget about freckles and grab some sun rays for a good sleep!
LIKE. haha I sometimes hope this website has a like button like the Facebook. In the past, I heard that there is no sub for sun light and at that time I didn't really think about it deeply. But now, I feel like I should go out sometimes and do some work for getting some sun lights. Thanks for reminding me that sun light is actually important to be smart!
For extensive research on the blue wavelength of nighttime light/electronic devices which supresses natural melatonin production go to www.lowbluelights.com. Glasses that block blue light and light bulbs that do not emit the blue component present in most bulbs are also available.
I could not believe the claim that you made in your blog! It makes so much sense though. When I am outside I feel drained but in a healthy way. I feel like I have just obtained a new study break excuse! Which is particularly needed in studying for my psychology final! I wonder if there is a list of all of the benefits of sunlight? Also is there any way we could create actually create a viable substitute. There is not anything I would trade for a day outside but somedays it just is not possible.